


Not That Bad After All

by purgatoan



Series: 12 Days of Destiel [10]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Businessman Dean, Fluff, Librarian Castiel, Light Angst, M/M, The Lord of the Rings References
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-23
Updated: 2016-12-23
Packaged: 2018-09-11 03:58:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8952850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purgatoan/pseuds/purgatoan
Summary: It seemed like that day couldn’t get worse, but, suprisingly, it managed to get a lot better, thanks to a sweet librarian.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for 12 Days of Christmas Challenge | @waywardlullabies | Day 10
> 
> Prompt: Secret Santa and Snowstorm
> 
> Beta: @spin-the-birdie on Tumblr
> 
> It’s the tenth out of 12 Destiel pieces I’ll be publishing daily, from December 14th to 25th, as a Christmas Celebration.
> 
> Hope you're gonna like it!

Everything was going bad that day.   
  
Dean’s car didn’t start at the morning as he wanted to drive to work and he had to take the bus instead, in order not to be late.   
  
He forgot his lunch and money, so he was hungry for the whole day.   
  
He spilled espresso on his dress shirt and, considering he didn’t have any spare ones at work, he had to walk around covered in stains.   
  
To add even more, his workplace was hosting a Christmas Party and he was forced to attend it. Above that, even though everyone got something from their Secret Santa’s (Dean had bought a beautiful watch for his co-worker) it turned out that Dean’s name was never drawn and he didn’t get anything.   
  
And, as he was going to the bus stop, a snowstorm came out of nowhere, and he had to find some place to sit it out, his choice being a library that was situated on the corner of the street.   
  
Dean stumbled inside, his teeth chattering from how cold he was, his fingers numb, even though he had gloves on. He hadn’t been in a library since college which, in other words, meant that he hadn’t been in a library for a really long time. Dean forgot how good and at peace he felt surrounded by books and the memories brought a faint smile onto his face.

He shrugged out of his coat, took off his gloves and put them in the pockets, then hid the scarf in one of the sleeves. A faint smell of fresh-made coffee reached Dean’s nostrils and he followed it absentmindedly, finding himself in the reading room. There was nothing there except for endless rows of tables with chairs right next to them.

There was a man sitting next to one of the tables, his legs stretched on another chair as he kept leafing through a book on his lap. He had a mug full of coffee in his right hand; it was a Christmas one, with a Santa and reindeers on it.

Dean decided he shouldn’t stare, it wasn’t exactly a polite thing to do, so he cleared his throat, waiting for the man to turn around and acknowledge his presence. That moment never came, however. It seemed like the man was too lost in the book he was reading.

“Excuse me,” Dean said and the stranger turned around. Breath hitched in Dean’s throat as he took in those mesmerizing azure eyes staring at him with curiosity, “there’s a snowstorm outside and I thought I could sit it out here, maybe?” 

“Right. Of course!” The man answered, getting up from his seat, “Hope you didn’t have to wait long, I tend to get lost in books,” he added, a nervous smile finding its way onto his face.

“Not at all. And it’s okay, I used to do that, too,” Dean admitted, then continued, “I’m Dean and I think I should shake your hand right now to I introduce myself, but my hands are freezing cold, so.”

The man let out a laugh, shaking Dean’s hand anyway, then replied, “It’s fine. I’m Castiel, but feel free to call me Cas. Would you like a cup of tea or coffee to warm up a bit?”

“Yeah, tea would be awesome. Thanks,” Dean said with a smile, plopping onto a chair opposite to Cas.

“No problem. I’ll be right back,” Castiel responded as he got up and out of the room, taking his mug with him.

He didn’t return for a while and Dean couldn’t help but pick up the book that Castiel was reading, wanting to check what kind of a book he was so into. Dean chuckled as he glanced at the cover, his eyes taking in the title. The Lord of the Rings was a series that held a special place in his heart. He hadn’t read it in ages so he marked the place where Castiel finished with his finger and began reading from the beginning.

He got so invested in the story that he jumped when he felt someone’s hand being laid on his arm. As Dean looked up he saw very amused-looking Castiel, “I made tea and brought cookies,” he said, gesturing to two mugs and a plate full of gingerbread cookies that were set on the table.

“Thanks,” Dean put the book on the table upside down, marking where Castiel finished, and picked one of the mugs from the table, taking a sip of the hot beverage.

“So, you’re into Lord of the Rings, too?” Castiel took the other mug in his hand and smiled softly at Dean.

“Yeah. It was one of the first fantasy series I’ve read, it’s a masterpiece,” Dean admitted, feeling his fingertips tingle as they finally started to warm up a bit.

Cas nodded, “That’s true. Tolkien was a genius and no one will ever beat him.”

And, after that confession, they started to talk more in depth about Tolkien’s visionary, admiring the fact that it was unique in the time when he began writing to write those kinds of stories. They tried to surprise the other one with how much they knew, but it wasn’t exactly a competition, they just finally found someone to talk about this with.

Dean had never felt as relaxed as in that moment, which was slightly weird, as he was sitting on an uncomfortable chair and talking with a man he knew nothing about. But, he didn’t have to pretend, he could be himself completely, and that felt freeing.

At work, Dean was never truly himself. He had to smile all the time, even when he felt like punching someone for being an asshole. He had to politely do everything his superiors told him to, even if they asked him to bring them a coffee and he felt like a damn servant.

In that library, the shell that he had built around himself shattered into pieces, leaving only him with no mask or lies.

Who would have thought that that day wouldn’t be so bad after all?


End file.
